Foodie Articles

  I got a little verbal rap on the knuckles from a customer the other day. Although good natured, she rightly pointed out that I have a tendency in this column to concentrate on families or large groups. She accused me of being oblivious to the singles and couples out there who also had to […]

    “During the war years and beyond culinary skills were tested to the limit. Housewives were proud to play their part in helping with the war effort. Many, self taught, embraced the art of cooking enthusiastically. They used limited resources ingeniously, respecting the available ingredients and avoiding waste. Above all, they were prepared to […]

  I’ve noticed an interesting food trend since the kids have gone back to school and most people have returned to a more strict routine. People are genuinely concerned with school or work lunches; constantly trying to balance variety, value and nutrition. They give equal thought to the main meal of the day, again being […]

  In conversation with a friend recently I found myself wading into the murky waters of food and weight loss. We would both find ourselves in that rather tricky position of having a desire to fit into a smaller trouser size but possessing an even greater desire for a steak pie, nice wine, good sausage, […]

The last time I checked, most human adults were in possession of a decent enough brain. The brain, that vital organ that sits between our ears, helps us survive, work and raise our young without doing them too much damage. It is our ability to assess and make choices using the brain that largely separates […]

  I’m always interested in how food trends spread around the world and how we adopt and adapt other country’s traditions. For some reason Tapas have registered on my radar several times over the past few weeks. Perhaps it’s just the summer and people looking to warmer countries for inspiration. So what is ‘tapas’ and […]

  The Butcher’s Apprentice; I just can’t help thinking it would make a great name for a heavy rock band or perhaps a race horse. It’s on my mind at present because apprentice positions have just opened up here at James Whelan Butchers and with the Leaving Certificate results hot off the presses, new careers […]

  As the old saying goes, necessity really is the mother of invention. I found myself with a small dilemma (tiny in fact as dilemmas go) over the weekend. Approximately half of a pound of butter that had been left out of the fridge was rapidly turning into a too soft, squidgy mess on the […]

  Looking back through my archive of musings for this column over the past three years it would appear that I could pull out the same article each August and reprint it and that’s mainly because of the predictably unpredictable Irish weather. We start off the summer full of anticipation of sunny days, picnics and […]

It never ceases to amaze me the staggering amounts of money that government bodies, business organisations and educational institutions the world over pump into research, surveys and reports. Some are obviously valid but others verge on the ridiculous. For example a significant amount was spent on a research project in a British university that came […]

The longer I’m around food the more I am realising the miracle of natural ingredients. I’m talking about ingredients that haven’t been processed in a clean room, added to and no longer recognisable as their original selves, but real natural foods, grown or reared, that will eventually go off and are still alive inside. Tinned, […]

So many wonderful, unique things in this world have been taken and murdered by mass marketing and general misuse. So much so we are in grave danger of missing out on some tremendous experiences. It has happened in every facet of life. For example Paul Simon is a wonderful songwriter who gave us a lovely […]